Establishing a Foundation of Defense and Energy Concepts

Fred A. Morse, P-Division Leader (1984-1987)

As I look back at my brief stewardship of the Physics (P) Division, I am struck by the strength of the people, their dedication, and their confidence that they could accomplish amazingly difficult things. The Division was, and still is, pervaded with a sense of “can do.” I am struck by the parade of new opportunities, and challenges at the time. I am struck by the life cycles of experiments, projects, and programs. There were few projects that both started and ended while I was the steward. Many projects were started and many ended. But most of these projects, although refocused and redirected at times, continued one step after another—always moving. I am struck by how much change was simply a part of life in the Division.

Well, if the bedrock of P Division was its people, its foundation was its mission. Our mission then was to generate ideas, knowledge, and technology in critical areas of physics in order to establish a foundation for both current and long-term defense and energy concepts. I suspect that the Division mission is still much the same in people’s hearts, but today’s wording is better.

The scaffold that held the Division together was, and still is, the diversity of exciting projects. Not all of these projects made it to the big time, but each one contributed ideas and knowledge to our understanding of physical processes.

Let’s look back at some of these projects. The Los Alamos Bright Source I (LABS-I) was built. There were honest differences of opinion about contracting parts of it out and about amplifier design, and both sides could argue in hindsight that they were correct. In spite of this, LABS-I did get built on a shoestring, and it has been a successful tool. Group P-l4 led the effort to build four beam lines at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s National Synchrotron Light Source. Those involved will remember that it too was not easy and needed more money and more staff, but it is a project that they can be proud of.

The Weak Interactions Group (P-3) was started under Jay Keyworth and continued under John Browne, me, and Damon Giovanielli. Group P-3 achieved a 2-s limit of less than 27 eV for the mass of the electron neutrino while I was in P Division. Since then, they achieved less than 9 eV. This project, which was accomplished by so few for so little, is an example of the dedication, perseverance, and genius so often shown in the Division.

Antares was the centerpiece of the inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) program, which took a dramatic turn in that period. The Division achieved its construction goal, and Antares operated successfully for several experiments. Long-wavelength lasers had both vocal critics and physics working against it. Physics showed that scaling with wave number was more important than power. Critics from many laboratories were incensed that we continued as long as we did. Experimenters and designers at Los Alamos had tried to beat the wavelength dependence with clever target design and different energy-deposition concepts but did not achieve sufficient success in the eyes of the sponsors. After several reviews (one I sponsored in the Green Room), Antares was terminated by the program office. The ultraviolet KrF program, begun under John Browne, became the centerpiece of the program. The ultraviolet wavelength seemed very attractive.

A focused laser pulse from Bright Source I ablates matter from an aluminum target, producing hot plasma. Bright Source I produced extraordinary irradiances because of its ultrashort pulselength of less than 1 ps and its very small, focused spot diameter of a few micrometers. Electric fields created by this laser pulse exceeded those binding electrons to nuclei within atoms. Bright Source I has now been replaced by Bright Source II, which is being used to study problems related to nonequilibrium plasmas and nonlinear atomic physics.

Work on gamma-ray lasers (grasers) was an interesting project too, but it was eventually ended by lack of sponsor interest. I still do not know how much likelihood of success there was. Many things worked out, but finding the right pump for the lines identified only in theory was a formidable task.

The Nevada Test Site teams used a nuclear weapons test to provide neutrons for a neutron-neutron (n-n) scattering measurement. This effort was extraordinary, complete with its share of disappointments and successes.

The weapons groups continued spectacular development of high-speed diagnostics: high-speed, high-sensitivity, and high-resolution streak cameras and single-shot multiple image cameras. The fiber-optic technology, which was a “first” then, is routine today.

A major controversy was created when P-1 found that a z-pinch plasma produced a high-energy electron beam as a natural consequence of the pinch physics. That sort of controversy is fun (the ones you win). Group P-1 also produced record-setting microwave power for Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) programs before there was an SDI. They worked closely with designers from the Applied Theoretical Physics (X) Division and produced a remarkable knowledge base for virtual cathodes and other geometries.

Work on a neutral-particle-beam ion injector was begun in P-7. This work led to several important projects.

ICF experiments done at Rochester explored the power of LASNEX. The work confirmed the code in much of the energy range but showed weakness at low energies.

Rail guns were brought a long way before the fickle funding finger finally proved fatal.
Laser sensing and detection of satellites was demonstrated. Antares was used as part of these little-known experiments.

A project to measure the gravitational masses of H- and antiprotons was begun with high hopes for quick measurement and program development.

Precision and detailed cross-section measurements for hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium below the Coulomb barrier for fusion studies were completed. This effort received a great deal of attention for its care and accuracy. The cross section for 7Be(n,p)7Li from 0.03 to 300 eV was obtained. The Drell Yan experiment was proposed.

Little-known programs in P Division in those years were the neutral particle beam and an induction linear accelerator at Berkeley.

John Wheatley’s influence and the transfer of solid-state physics to P-10 changed this group in dramatic ways. An early tech transfer from that group was the transfer of people, ideas, and patents for magnetic refrigeration to Astronautics of America, Inc., in Madison, Wisconsin. We didn’t call it tech transfer then.
Magnetoencephalography, or MEG, struggled to prove its technology in a basement screen room with a very small group in P Division.

A high-speed protein analyzer was developed using high-energy-physics wire-chamber technology. Other technologies eventually by-passed this interesting application of high-energy-physics techniques to biology, but it worked, and it symbolized the cross-discipline interests in the Division.

I have not mentioned the favorite projects of everyone, and I have necessarily stayed away from the classified work. This lack of a complete list means that many people may be offended by omission—I regret that. The ones I have chosen were not selected by any rigorous method. The annual reports of the time were my principal reminders. My memory is also tempered by how much attention I personally paid to projects because too often they were in financial trouble.

During this time, organizational changes occurred too. I have mentioned the termination of Antares. In time, the diminished laser program in P Division was combined with other laser efforts to form the Chemical and Laser Sciences (CLS) Division. Groups P-5, P-7, and P-16 went to CLS Division. P-12 went to the Mechanical and Electronic Engineering Division. We merged parts of P-9 and P-8 and called the new entity the Manuel Lujan, Jr., Neutron-Scattering Center. Group P-4 was retained and its charter enlarged. Group P-10 was redirected and its staff augmented. Many of the current Group Leaders were named during this period.

So, the three years that I served as Division Leader was a time of major change in projects and organization. Yet P Division seemed not to dwell on the old but rather concentrated on the new—to build new opportunities.

I was, and am, proud to have been associated with the people of such a Division. I cannot begin listing names of those to whom I am indebted for making the organization tick—it was all of you.

LA-12501-PR

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